Overview & Intro of Eckankar, The Cult -- Part 4

ECKANKAR: CULT OVERVIEW

(This is an "introductory handout" file I send to people who are requesting more information.
Some of it, of course, is a bit repetitious if you've looked at my other webpages....but this section
of this website will be used to direct people who aren't yet familiar with "The Other Side of
Eckankar -- What The Cult Doesn't Want People to Know.")

To Whom It May Concern:

I was a member of Eckankar, a pseudo-religion with headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota,
USA, and a
"Temple" in Chanhassen, for almost 15 years.

In July of 1998, I went to the newsgroup alt.religion.eckankar as a "missionary" to help spread
the "Light and Sound." I didn't think of myself as a "missionary" .... cultic programming had
convinced me that Eckankar wasn't out to get new members; I was simply sharing the love and
joy in my
heart, and "The Mahanta" would take care of the rest.

After a short time at the newsgroup, I became aware that a funny feeling I'd had inside me for
many, many
years -- that there was something wrong about Eckankar -- wasn't the "Kal" (Satan) as I'd been
told in
Eckankar, or a "doubt" planted by the "Master" to test & strengthen me spiritually. I learned that
Eckankar
was, basically, a lie. When I first "left," it was a matter of personal
integrity, and not being able to remain associated with a "religion" whose leaders lied, refused to
answer legitimate questions, and indeed, spiritually abused members who refused to follow the
"party line."
In the months after I left, I went back over the "holy scriptures" and for the first
time, saw so many things that I had somehow missed.

I believe it was in October 1998 that I formally resigned. Through all this time, I remained at the
newsgroup....and went through things I never believed possible. I learned first-hand that yes,
Eckankar does
use subtle mind-control techniques which over the years, well....basically, you end up
brainwashed. I can't
begin to describe the clarity of mind, heart, and soul since
leaving the cult...every day gets better and better!

Because I was a secretary to a local Lutheran parish for 10 months that year, and because
eckists at the
newsgroup had gone so far as to post the website of the Catholic Church I now attend, well....I
told the
Lutheran pastor as well as my parish priest a bit about my cult experience. As a result, because
Pastor Eric
knows me personally and knows that I'm a basically normal, well-balanced person, I was even
asked to
speak to a group of pastors to tell them about the cult. And I must say....if anyone has
*experiences* they
don't understand, please, never hesitate to talk to a Christian clergyman about them.

When I was an eckist, I was asked to be a member of a "Group of Online Eckists" whose
purpose, I soon
learned, was to silence those who spoke out against Eckankar and tried to give people the
information that I
wish I had known before I was caught in it. And I was told by an HI that I should not engage in
"conversation" with those who spoke against Eckankar, especially Professor David Lane. I saw
first-hand
how Eckankar's "clergy" and "High Initiates" plotted and manipulated and discussed specific
"strategies"
against specific "detractors." In this group, I was shocked to see the hatred toward those who
spoke
against Eckankar, and the strategies used to silence them. I thought Eckankar was about
"divine
unconditional love for all souls." I was wrong. Eckankar lied. While many people leave
Eckankar when
they discover the expose published by Professor David Lane, my experience was different. I left
because as
an Eckist, I could see first-hand that Eckankar lied and manipulated, and did not follow its own
teachings...
the teachings it emphasizes in its public messages. When I left Eckankar, at first I still
"believed" ... it took
months for me to really break free of it inside, and to really understand and be able to separate
the stolen
"truths" I believed in (which actually, are from other great & valid spiritual traditions and
teachings) from
the cultic lies and mind-control.

I learned that Harold Klemp regularly broadcasts on TV in Minneapolis, and that there is much
advertising
in various media all over the country; in the summer of 1998, Eckankar also had a full-page
advertisement in
TV guide. Eckankar also uses expensive marketing consultants in their efforts to gain new
converts.
Basically, it's a form of spiritual "protection racket," with multi-level marketing techniques thrown
in.
Eckankar, like most cults, does not want either the general public or its members to know
anything about its
"hidden" side. When Professor David Lane's research was mailed to Eckankar centers years
ago, eckists
were told to destroy it without reading it. And this is what many "higher initiates" actually did.
Thousands
of other eckists, however, read the information...and left Eckankar.

While Eckankar claims to respect all religions and see everyone as soul....it doesn't.

I am attaching a file with further information which you may find interesting. Eckankar lures
people in with
subtle messages in what I call the "newbie freebie book" you can get by calling 1-800-
LOVEGOD. From
there....it's a road into a deep, dark hole that isn't easy to escape.

Since I have been speaking out at the newsgroup, I have heard from so many ex-eckists about
the trauma
they've suffered through leaving this cult. The psychological effects of spiritual abuse in some
cases is still
there for as long as 15-20 years. It doesn't have to be that way....but because of many fear &
threat
messages interwoven with stolen & plagiarized ancient truths in Eckankar's "teachings,"
well....people are
afraid to speak out, and blame themselves....

When Paul Twitchell created this cult, he also considered how to silence those who left. Fear
and threats
were one method. Another was the "teaching" that people weren't "ready" for the high truth of
Eckankar,
and needed to learn lessons in "other paths" ... but that eventually, they would have to return to
the
"Mahanta" in order to reach "heaven."

I hope you find the enclosed information will perhaps let more people know the truth about
Eckankar and its
false and deceptive "teachings," so that this cult perhaps can be prevented from doing to others
what it did
to me, and many other ex-eckists. If people do truly want to join this cult, well....they should be
able to
know ALL the information about it. To be honest, I don't
know how anyone could possibly look at it objectively and still want to be a part of it.

Thank you very much. Please feel free to contact me anytime for more information.